ABOUT

Writing Picture Books

Well… Where to begin? I’m a writer, ex-teacher and a parent to two boys. We live in a small village in South-West England. We have a dog called ‘Charlie’.

He’s grown somewhat since this picture was taken!

I am spending most of my time as a single-parent carer these days, having given up my teaching work, to combine writing and spending more time with my family. Since creating this website, my son has stopped attending his mainstream school and is currently at home full-time. He has been at home almost two years, whilst awaiting an appropriate educational setting for his needs. The last school he attended, for only a short period of time, supported us to the best of their abilities and submitted the appropriate paperwork to help us find an educational setting which is able to cater for his needs. I will always be grateful for their professionalism, sensitivity and timely intervention.

He is due to transition shortly to a Special School (at last!), where he will have his own classroom, appropriate resources and therapies. It has been a long time coming – far too long, in my opinion – but I am positive about his future. During his time at home I have been able to ‘de-school’ him, repair the damage done by a system ill-equipped to address his needs. I have provided a loose structure to his week, including sensory activities, social skill development, exercise and occasional educational trips. Although a teacher, I have always maintained that I would not home educate – but we have dipped into some learning inspired by his interests and have links to local home-ed groups. And I have been impressed by the variety and quality of learning that is taking place outside of traditional school settings.

My original decision to give up my regular teaching job was a difficult one but, aside from the financial implications, it has been absolutely the best way forward for us and given me time to focus on my writing and the health and well being of my children.

Sadly, time allocated to writing has all but disappeared this year and, in the past, I have always had to discipline myself to sit down and write when I’m working from home. Considering how much I love writing, I am very good at finding excuses not to, and take a long time to settle into the right frame of mind for a serious writing session! Added to my lack of discipline, and infringing on the time I carve out for writing, is the time I spend researching special educational needs resources, legislation and so on, in order to help my son. Then there are the many other distractions, from checking emails and social media to reading articles and baking cakes. And, of course, now I have a little person at home to nurture too. When my youngest son is more settled in his new school, I hope to resume writing.

I love spending time with my family, taking long dog walks, exploring new places, travelling, theatre, cinema, running, yoga, climbing, people who are positive and have a sense of humour and Green and Black’s chocolate!

On a more serious note, I have always loved reading and writing and am a huge fan of picture books. I get very excited about these, especially if I discover a new author. To quote Gretchen Rubin:

‘Truly great picture books are engaging at any age, beautiful and beautifully written, and yet we don’t think of them as something we would seek out as adults. And when we think of enjoying “art,” it’s easy to imagine going to a museum–but the pleasure of art comes in many forms, and the art of picture books is a delight. Also, at least for me, reading picture books brings back many happy memories, and that’s a happiness-booster, as well.’

Picture books are short but they are like little gems, perfectly formed. Every word has to count. I once read that writing a picture book was like writing War and Peace in 500 words. This I understand. Martha Dais Beck, editor of Riverbank Review says,

‘ A book for the very young should have words that swing and pictures that grab the eye. There should be enough in it that is familiar, to offer comfort, and enough that is new, to spark interest and create a sense of adventure.’

So true. And, over the past few years, whilst getting to grips with this genre, I have learnt the necessity of writing, editing, critiquing, more writing, more editing, more critiquing and so on.

My Writing Room – Sometimes tidier but often much messier!

So, as you may gather, Picture Books is ‘my thing’. In spite of all the digital reading I do, and I tend to read adult fiction on my iPad now, I can never go too long without purchasing a physical book. I also write a little poetry, both for adults and children and, when feeling very brave, have taken part in stand up performances both in the UK and on one occasion in a small launderette in beautiful Jasper, Canada! I have also written some educational resources for teachers, on TpT and TeachInABox.

Now that my eldest son is reading YA books, I find myself researching, reading and, more recently, writing my own book – currently in third draft, shelved until I can re-visit. More on that to follow!

Before having children, I wrote and traditionally published an educational book about incorporating PSHE in school collective worship. Many of my friends seem to be teachers, practising or retired. Those who are currently working are energetic and inspiring, in a system which often seems inflexible and flawed. If only teachers were allowed to draw on their intuition and professional knowledge! If only there were less paper work, meetings and assessments! Increasingly, at school, children are expected to adapt to fit our way of teaching, rather than us adapting to accommodate the children. For a culture that embraces diversity, we expect children to adapt to our demands, jumping through more and more hoops so we can tick a box or two. And I do wonder, more and more, if school is the right environment for a large proportion of children. But that is my rant over, for there is a lot of exciting ‘stuff’ going on in so many schools, many wonderful teachers and increasing opportunities for authors to get involved, through school visits e.t.c.

I have hop-scotched into the 21st century, with its increasingly bewildering technology, and am doing everything I can to keep up with the technophiles around me, including my children. From discovering ‘iTube list’, a wonderful free app that allows me to build up a library of You Tube videos suitable for my youngest son to using QR codes on teaching resources – it’s all a challenge! Recently, I have found the autism-friendly ‘Stories About Me’ an invaluable resource for creating social stories with my son. I also love the app ‘ShowMe’, a useful cross-curricular resource which can be shared between teachers and pupils. Digital media and the possibilities that story apps, games and ebooks provide are very exciting. One of my current goals is to start using Twitter more regularly. I am enjoying following some really interesting people, but know I need to make my own tweets more regular and more interesting! There will always be change and I am a strong believer in embracing it!

Many more authors are now taking the self-publishing route or are a hybrid of self and traditionally published. The former certainly allows more freedom, greater control over how a book is put together, higher percentage revenue and is overall a much quicker process. But it also often means that the writer has to take on roles, such as marketing and distribution, that in the past have not been part of an author’s job! I am constantly learning new things and that is one of the things I love about being a writer in today’s world!

To anyone who is at a different place in a similar journey – Don’t give up, stay strong and have faith that you probably know your child better than anyone!

Winter 2017 Update

I find myself navigating the bumpy road of Divorce but, on a positive note, my son finally has a placement in a wonderful Special School just 15 minutes away. It is only by looking back that I realise just how far we have come. Being in the right environment, with teachers who understand and are flexible, has changed my son’s life and so my own. We still have difficult times, sensory struggles, anxiety and so on, but it is all so much more manageable and I am so much more hopeful for his future.